Mom who went viral moved by support from strangers

BATON ROUGE - A mom whose plight went viral after doing an interview on WBRZ Tuesday night is moved by the support she's received from strangers around the community and nation.

Dozens of people reached out to WBRZ offering their support. Today, we turned over all of the names and emails of people who contacted us to help her.

Schaquana Spears was arrested after she disciplined her kids. She admitted to whipping them after they got caught breaking into a house. At least one child had lacerations which broke the skin.

Spears was locked up for almost 24 hours when another Good Samaritan saw her story and bonded her out of jail.

"Single mothers especially that are raising sons, we have to have discipline or we will lose them," Spears told WBRZ Thursday.

When asked today whether Spears would have done the same thing, she said yes. She also added, she isn't upset with the state or deputies who arrested her.

"I understand their job," Spears said. "They were doing their job."

However, she said she was trying to discipline them before they got into the system. Spears said her children who are of school age are in Magnet Schools and on the honor roll.

As this case progresses through the system, Spears said she couldn't comment about what happened in court yesterday as she tried to get her children back. However, she did say it was wonderful to see them yesterday, and they now understand the enormity of all of this.

"My kids are going to be somebody,"Spears said. "They are not going to be other victims of society, or our environment that they're growing up in. They're going to be somebody."

Multiple attorneys have called to represent Spears. She said she's even received calls from network news asking for her to be on their shows.

The Department of Children and Family Services issued a statement Thursday clarifying the line "between reasonable discipline and child abuse."

"Reasonable, constructive discipline is a healthy part of parenting and an essential element of child rearing, but it crosses into abuse when it leaves a child cut, burned, bloody or bruised," the statement reads. "We’re referring to something more than a mere “spanking,” We encourage anyone with questions about child development and appropriate discipline to call Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana’s KIDLINE at 1-800-CHILDREN, which is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily."